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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. spell — a short time
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lie — to recline
  6. spell — letters
  7. perch — the fish
  8. land — to come down
  9. stock — shares
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spell — magic
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — ground
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. face — part of the head
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stock — goods
  21. land — a country
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. face — to confront
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com